The New Year’s Eve confetti had barely settled when a Maryland Lottery scratch-off win gave an Edgewater couple a new reason to celebrate. The couple of nearly four years found a $150,000 jackpot-winning scratch-off in the stockings they exchanged this holiday.

“It’s a beautiful way to start the New Year,” said the 47-year-old man.

The area design engineer and his girlfriend had just returned home after celebrating the holidays with family members. The Anne Arundel County residents were so tired that they put off exchanging their own gifts until New Year’s Day.

“We had exchanged stockings and were both scratching our tickets when I noticed that he was pacing,” said the 43-year-old girlfriend. Shortly after, he asked her to verify what he was seeing – that they had won the $150,000 top prize on a $10 King Size Bingo scratch-off. After they had a retailer confirm the win, they experienced a combination of relief and euphoria.

“We did the happy dance and then ran out of the store,” she said. “The win really just came at the best time for us.” They plan to use the jackpot prize to improve their home and contribute to their savings accounts.

Their lucky ticket came from the Royal Farms #056 at 301 Londontown Road in Edgewater.

After struggling for years to keep his home improvement business afloat during tough economic times, an Anne Arundel County man says his lucky break has come in the form of a Maryland Lottery scratch-off ticket.

Good fortune found Matthew “Shane” Funkhouser on Oct. 11 at a Royal Farms store in Edgewater, where he cashed in a winning $10 scratch-off ticket he’d been carrying around in a back pocket. Shane reinvested his winnings in two 7x the Money scratch-offs. The Edgewater resident still doesn’t know what made him break his lifelong routine of scratching newly purchased tickets in the store. The 32-year-old father of one just took the tickets home.

A lifelong scratch-off player, Shane was optimistic that he would win something. He typically wins something, from a smaller amount up to $500, when he plays a scratch-off for the first time.

“When I scratched the first prize amount for $1,000, I almost lost it,” he said. As he kept scratching and revealing more green 7s, he grew more and more excited. “Then, I saw all 15 of the 7s on the ticket.” He had just won $77,700!

“I almost put a hole through the kitchen floor jumping up and down,” he said. Shane alerted his parents, family members and a few friends and signed the winning ticket. However, at some point in all of the excitement, the ticket ended up on the kitchen counter with the signature facing down on a moist spot. The ink of Shane’s signature smeared when he picked the ticket up.

“I was so upset,” he recalled. “When I picked it up I saw the water and I went into panic mode. I said, ‘This is the biggest break I’ve had in my life. There is no way I’m not going to get to cash this.’ ”

Shane carefully dried off the ticket and enough of his signature remained that he was able to claim his $77,700 prize at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. Until then, he placed the ticket in a waterproof bag and hid it carefully “where no one would find it.”

His Lottery luck continued the night before he claimed his prize. Shane won four of seven Keno games and then played 11 scratch-off tickets, hitting eight out of 11.

“This could not have come to a better person,” Shane said, noting that he enjoys running a small business and creating jobs in the community. “I always said, if I could get one chance I would set myself up for the rest of my life.”

Shane has detailed plans to invest his winnings in small-business ventures. He is considering buying a tow truck operation and helping a friend expand a vehicle customization business to a third site in the Annapolis area. His six-year-old daughter Kamryn also will benefit from his lucky break, Shane said. “Kamryn will have a quite a Christmas this year.”

Our happy winner bought the lucky ticket at the Royal Farms store located at 301 Londontown Road in Edgewater.

Nancy Chick was visibly shaken as she walked into the Lottery headquarters winner’s lounge yesterday with her daughter. The Edgewater woman had decided to buy “one last ticket” before her long-awaited trip to Hawaii. That last 40 Rubies ticket she bought unveiled a $100,000 top-prize win.

Leading up to her big win, the mother-of-four had enjoyed a lucky streak while playing the 40 Rubies ticket. “I had won $10, $50, $75 and a couple of weeks ago I even had a $500 winner. Every time I played, I won. So, I just stuck with this ticket,” Nancy told Lottery officials.

The 74-year-old had been saving up for several years to take the trip-of-a-lifetime to Hawaii and told herself that it might be good luck to pick up a 40 Rubies ticket before she left. When she checked her ticket and saw the $100,000 prize staring right back at her, she immediately called her daughter and told her to come over.

Nancy, who has 14 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, is concentrating on her upcoming trip to Hawaii before she makes any further plans for the money. Just in case the $100,000 wasn’t enough, Chick still has a $10 winning to cash. The lucky ticket was purchased at Colony Liquors at 3259A Solomons Island Road in Edgewater.

An Anne Arundel County man is celebrating his 55th birthday in style. Although he played Mega Millions last Friday, he didn’t check his ticket until yesterday, which happened to be his birthday. He received quite a birthday present when he found out he won a $250,000 second-tier prize.

“I’m just so excited,” he said. “I really think it hasn’t sunk in yet. This is one of the best birthdays ever!”

She’d never played the Lottery before and likely wouldn’t have earlier this month if not for a phone call from her boyfriend. The $250,000 second-tier Mega Millions prize that resulted from her first Lottery purchase, the 15th won so far this year in Maryland, has done much to relieve pressure the 24-year old has been experiencing recently.

“I was out doing some errands when my boyfriend called,” she told officials. “He knew I’d be around some Lottery stores and asked me to get a Mega Millions ticket.” It wasn’t until several days after the drawing that she checked her ticket and realized that something extraordinary had happened. “I was freaking out a bit, definitely in shock.” The winner and her boyfriend then spent a week or two seeking advice about handling the $250,000 prize.

The couple bought a house earlier this year so several of their home improvement projects will get a boost from the winnings. Taking care of student and family loans, however, will be the winner’s first priority. The winning ticket was purchased from Lucky’s Suprette, 119 Mayo Road in Edgewater.

Friday afternoon, 53-year-old William Colburn of Anne Arundel County made his routine stop at his local convenience store where he and his friends often socialize and play the Lottery. The day was no different then any other when he purchased two Crossword Multiplier scratch-offs, one of his favorite games. Not sure if he had won, William asked his retailer to scan the ticket. When “Cash at Lottery” appeared on the screen, the store worker told him, “You’ve won big money.”

After pacing around the store and showing the ticket to his buddies, William decided to call his wife at work and tell her the big news. “I thought something terrible had happened because when William called me, he asked me if I was sitting down,” said his wife, who had accompanied him to Lottery Headquarters. He reassured her that everything was fine and that he thinks he just won a large sum of money. One of Mrs. Colburn’s fellow co-workers shouted, “Make sure he signs the back of the ticket!” Signing your tickets is great advice for anyone who wins any sum of money, large or small, so that no one else can cash your winnings.

A few hours later, the Colburn’s were at Lottery Headquarters still in disbelief that they had actually just claimed a $50,000 winning ticket. “My hands are still sweating,” William joked. The couple said that they plan to put most of the money in the bank and pay off a few bills. Mrs. Colburn laughed, saying she would like to go on vacation but she doesn’t think William will want to leave his four cats at home. Instead, they will enjoy a nice dinner together.

Nga Thi Nguyen arrived at Lottery Headquarters with her workmate and friend in tow, to claim her top-prize scratch-off win. The 37-year-old, who plays the Lottery only occasionally, couldn’t quite grasp that she was $50,000 richer. In fact, she remained unconvinced right up until being escorted into the Lottery’s Winners Lounge, where she laid eyes on the oversized check with her name on it.

The soft-spoken winner decided to buy her one Lottery scratch-off yesterday because all of her co-workers were playing. “I went to the retailer next door and bought just one ticket,” said Nga. “I told the clerk to just pick one for me.” Nga went back to her salon and proceeded to scratch her Super Bonus Crossword, revealing that the clerk’s pick was perfect.

As Nga’s fellow manicurists celebrated around her, the scratch-off novice had no idea that she was a winner. The winner’s friend said, “She was just like, ‘what?’ You can’t be serious.”

Nga intends to pay off debt with her windfall and may take a trip to her native-land Vietnam to visit her mother and other family members. The winning ticket was purchased at Lucky’s Superette, located at 119 Mayo Rd. in Edgewater.

Larry Goff Jr., a 24-year-old Millersville resident, left yesterday’s Lottery decision in the hands of his father. Instead of playing the usual Keno for his son, Dad decided to play Racetrax for the first time, which rewarded Larry Goff Jr. with a surprising $94,362.

Everyday, Larry Goff Jr.’s father receives a phone call from his son, asking him to play certain Keno numbers for him. Larry Goff plays the numbers at the auto shop he manages and usually calls his son back with disappointing news. On Monday, however, Larry’s father dialed his son and told him that he needed to get to Edgewater Oceanic immediately because he thought he had won $31,000.

The HVAC worker left his job and raced to Edgewater to pick up his father and then head to Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize. On the drive, the father and son duo checked the ticket over and over, only to realize the bonus that had been purchased tripled their winnings to $94,362!

In the middle of all the commotion, Larry received a phone call from his mother-in-law, inquiring about the reason he left work so abruptly. Larry responded, “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you!”

Larry arrived at Lottery headquarters just a few minutes before closing, but his new winnings were well worth the rush. Larry, who is getting married next May, plans to save his prize for wedding expenses and a new house. The winning ticket was purchased at Edgewater Oceanic, located at 3071 Solomons Island Rd. in Edgewater.

Soft-spoken David Brady arrived at Lottery headquarters this afternoon accompanied by his wife, Rachel, and dad, David Brady Sr., to claim his $1 million Ravens Cash Fantasy prize. The 27-year-old was admittedly still in shock at having scored the first big instant win on the football-themed ticket. A salesman for a beverage company, David had stopped to visit his client at the 7-11, located at 500 Donaldson Rd. in Severn. With $5 in his pocket, he decided to buy one Ravens Cash Fantasy ticket.

“I was going to get a couple of Mega Millions and Powerball tickets,” said David. “But, I’d been really lucky with Ravens Cash Fantasy, so I bought that ticket instead.” In fact, every one of the six tickets he’d bought since they went on sale, except for one, was a winner. “I’d been buying the tickets for the EXTRA YARDS. I wanted those Ravens season tickets,” he explained. “I never thought I’d win a million dollars. Even though it’s now official, I still don’t believe it.”

David discovered his millionaire status sitting in his car outside the 7-11 store. He immediately called his wife to share the news, but couldn’t convince her that he was telling the truth. “She made me send a picture of the ticket on my cell phone,” he said. Once persuaded, Rachel sent out a mass message to friends and family. The happy couple, who has three small children, has big plans for their windfall. “We’re going to buy a house,” said David. “A rancher, with a pool and fence,” elaborated Rachel. The twosome, who lost their rental home due to a fire in 2006, never envisioned home ownership in their future. “I teared up thinking about having my own house,” said Rachel.

David intends to keep buying Ravens Cash Fantasy tickets. “I still want those season tickets, plus there are two more big prizes out there,” he said with a chuckle, referring to the two $1 million instant prizes still available. “Yesterday started out rough,” said David. “Then it turned out to be the best day of my life.”

Like last year’s scratch-off, each Ravens Cash Fantasy ticket features a perforated portion with a special “EXTRA YARDS” code that players can enter online at mdlottery.com/ravens to win premium prizes that include season tickets for life, season tickets for 2010 and 2011, an away-trip with the team, the chance to be a team photographer for a game, framed autographed jerseys and numerous other experiential prizes.